Still no deal for Rockford stop on passenger train route

ROCKFORD — Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration has promised to deliver passenger rail service from Chicago to Rockford by early 2015, but negotiations have hit a snag and the deal may take longer to close.

ROCKFORD — Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration has promised to deliver passenger rail service from Chicago to Rockford by early 2015, but negotiations have hit a snag and the deal may take longer to close.

The state has set aside $60 million to upgrade Canadian National Railway tracks to accommodate Amtrak service between Chicago and Dubuque, Iowa, stopping at South Elgin, Rockford, Freeport and Galena, with a possible stop in Lena.

“We’re a little disappointed in CN. That’s the tracks we’d have to use,” said Quinn, who was in Machesney Park today touting his jobs and economic plan for Illinois.

“Their pricing is way above what I’d think we’d consider reasonable, and we’re not going to pay an outlandish price to get this route. So we’re taking another look at that.

“It’s important we have passenger rail from Chicago to Rockford and beyond — Freeport, Galena, East Dubuque. So we want to work with the railroad. If they don’t come down on their cost, though, we are going to have to take a look at the whole operation and take a look at some other opportunities.”

The governor didn’t commit to a timeline for bringing passenger rail to Rockford. He simply, and emphatically, said: “It’s going to happen.”

Establishing service between Chicago and Dubuque has been a long-desired transportation goal of Rockford-area leaders. The state’s investment would improve CN’s freight-only line to a 79-mph limit so passenger trains can compete with automobile speeds.

“We’re still hoping for service to begin sometime in 2015,” said Steve Ernst, executive director of Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the region’s federally designated planning body. “We’re hopeful negotiations will get finalized fairly soon.”